BoG: US Tourists Drive Rise in Greece Travel Receipts for January-March

Image credit: Global Residence Index

Travel receipts in the first quarter (Q1) of the year in Greece came close to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, reaching 732.9 million euros compared to 760 million euros, driven in large part by US traveler arrivals and spending, according the latest data released by the Bank of Greece (BoG).

More specifically, travel receipts in the January‑March period increased by 63.8 percent over Q1 2022 driven by a 31.8 percent rise in receipts by EU residents to 318.7 million euros and a 102.2 percent rise to 409.6 million euros by non-EU nationals.

In the first three months of the year, Greece welcomed a total of 1.87 million people, up by 74.7 percent compared to January‑March 2022 and  1,072.7 thousand.

Marking the largest increase in receipts both in Q1 and in March was the US market up by 98.4 percent to 67 million euros in Q1. Also on the rise were receipts from France up by 136.8 percent to 57.9 million euros and the UK, up by 35.9 percent to 54.9 million euros.

According to a recent report, Athens is in the Top 10 destinations in Europe for US travelers this summer.

Meanwhile, receipts from key source market Germany fell by 3.5 percent to 63.3 million euros and from Russia by 46.6 percent to 3.2 million euros.

In March, travel receipts increased by 45.6 percent year‑on‑year driven by EU residents (+38.3 percent to 120.8 million euros) and non-EU visitors (+52.4 percent to 142.8 million euros).

Receipts by German travelers dropped by 12.0 percent to 23.4 million euros. On the rise were receipts generated by French tourists, up by 17.1 percent to 13.3 million euros, British travelers (+9.3 percent to 17.1 million euros), the Americans, up by a massive 107.9 percent to 38.5 million euros, and by Russian visitors (+33.1 percent to 2.2 million euros).

Arrivals in March grew by 60.8 percent year‑on‑year to 666.1 thousand.

A study released in January confirmed that the US was a top market driving the global tourism sector’s recovery in 2022.